2.1 Best Adam Smasher Build

This is a guide to the best Adam Smasher Build for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Update 2.1. Read our guide for details about this build inspired by the legendary Adam Smasher, what attributes to level up, which perks to choose, and what weapons and cyberwares to use.

Adam Smasher Build Overview

Basic Information

Adam Smasher Build
Main Attributes	Body Technical Ability Reflexes
Main Weapons / Arm Cyberware	・M-76E Omaha ・Defender ・Wild Dog (Phantom Liberty) ・Projectile Launch System
Operating System	・Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

This build lets you play similarly as the legendary Adam Smasher, Night City's own metal boogeyman.

Just like Smasher, you'll be wielding light machine guns and fire off rocket projectiles via the Projectile Launch System which are powered up by several perks.

You'll also be playing the game like a living, walking tank, boasting high HP and armor with a reliable health regen from cyberware and perks while being agile thanks to mobility perks.

Weaknesses

You can easily jump right into the firefight with this build and let the bullets rain, but you'll eventually run out of bullets due to your weapons being so ammo hungry.

You will also be vulnerable whenever you are reloading your LMGs, as it takes some time to change magazines per reload, and need to keep your stamina low to be able to take advantage of several heavy weapon perks.

Additionally, Adam Smasher does not operate stealthily, so this build is not suited for sneaking around, much like the tank build.

Adam Smasher Best Attribute Build

Attribute Progression

The max level is only up until 50 in the base game. Purchase Phantom Liberty to reach level 60.

The Body attribute is built up first to get health regen and heavy weapon perks. This will allow you to deal as much damage as possible while being supported by steady health regen.

After maxing Body, you can start leveling up your Technical Ability to get faster health item cooldown and additional stat boosts from your cyberware.

Mobility perks under Reflexes are also obtained so you can easily move around, but those that improve stamina regeneration are skipped so you can steadily maintain low stamina, which is important for certain heavy weapon perks.

The rest of the points are alloted to Cool to raise your crit damage.

Adam Smasher Build Best Perks

This is the full list of perks that you can get if you achieve the maximum level 60 with the Phantom Liberty DLC. Optional perks are also listed in their own section in case you have not purchased the DLC.

Jump to Each Attribute for Their Perks!
Body	Technical Ability	Reflexes
Optional Perks

Body Attribute

The main attribute for this build is Body, which is maxed out first to get heavy weapon and health regen perks immediately.

To start off, get Die! Die! Die! and Adrenaline Rush to power up your light machine guns and get extra health whenever you use a health item. The former even speeds up your fire rate if you have low stamina, which makes you even deadlier.

You can then follow this up with Spontaneous Obliteration, which has a chance to dismember and insta-kill low health targets, giving them a very messy ending.

Once Body is maxed out, get Onslaught to get ammo refills everytime you kill a target. This will allow you to get additional ammo in your magazine without reloading, as long as you kill enemies.

You can also get Wrecking Ball and Quake to get some extra moves with your bare fists. You will be able to charge towards your enemies or crush them from above with Epicenter.

Perk List

Main Perk	Secondary Perk(s)
Painkiller (1 pt)	Comeback Kid Army of One Dorph-Head Speed Junkie
Die! Die! Die! (2 pt)	Bullet Ballet Don't Stop Me Now Like a Feather
Wrecking Ball (2 pt)	Fly Swatter
Spontaneous Obliteration (3 pt)	Rush of Blood Dread Close-Quarters Carnage Skullcracker
Adrenaline Rush (3 pt)	Juggernaut Unstoppable Force Calm Mind
Quake (3 pt)	Epicenter

Final Perks

Final Perks
Onslaught	Pain to Gain

Cross-Branch Perk

Perk	Requirement
Bloodlust	Rush of Blood Juggernaut

Get this perk when you have specific secondary perks unlocked.

2.0 Body Attribute and List of Body Perks

Technical Ability Attribute

The Tech tree is prioritized next after body to speed up your health item and Projectile Launch System's recharge rates, as well as get more stat boosts from your equipped cyberware.

Pyromania and its connected perk synergizes well with Projectile Launch System by improving its damage and speeding up its recharge rate so you'll be able to constantly fire explosives, much like Smasher's rocket launcher.

For cyberwares, the Edgerunner and its connected perks will improve all of your equipped cyberwares. Edgerunner also has a chance to activate Fury, which will make you deal even more damage.

Perk List

Main Perk	Secondary Perk(s)
Glutton for War (1 pt)	First Aid Transfusion
All Things Cyber (2 pt)	Chrome Constitution Renaissance Punk Driver Update Chipware Connoisseur Lucky Day
Health Freak (2 pt)	Field Medic Borrowed Time Demolitions Surplus Friendlier Fire
License to Chrome (3 pt)	Extended Warranty Built Different Ambidextrous Cyborg
Pyromania (3 pt)	Friendlier Fire Burn This City Heat Shield Flash Sale

Final Perks

Final Perks
Edgerunner

Cross-Branch Perk

Perk	Requirement
Doomlauncher	Friendlier Fire Ambidextrous

Get this perk when you have specific secondary perks unlocked.

2.0 Technical Ability Attribute and List of Technical Ability Perks

Reflexes Attribute

Lastly, perks under the Reflexes attribute will help you gain some mobility via Dashing or Air Dashing.

Do note that stamina perks are skipped so you can maintain low stamina rather than extending it.

Perk List

Main Perk	Secondary Perk(s)
Slippery (1 pt)	Multitasker Parkour! Power Slide Muscle Memory
Dash (2 pt)	Steady Grip Can't Touch This Mad Dash
Air Dash (3 pt)	Aerial Acrobat Aerodynamic

2.0 Reflexes Attribute and List of Reflexes Perks

Optional Perks

If you still have not purchased the Phantom Liberty DLC and have no access to the 10 additional perk points that came with it, these perks are optional and can be removed.

Removable Perks (10 pts)
Air Dash	Aerial Acrobat
Aerodynamic	Lucky Day
Parkour!	Power Slide
Flash Sale	Field Medic

Adam Smasher Build Relic Skill Priority

Take Vulnerability Analytics and Machine Learning First

Priority	Main Skill	→	Branch Skill
1st	Jailbreak	→	Launch Capacity Override
2nd	Vulnerability Analytics	→	Machine Learning

Even if Adam Smasher did not have the Relic chipped in, it is imperative to get Jailbreak and Launch Capacity Override to really get the most out of your Projectile Launch System.

Once you get Jailbreak, you'll be able to charge the weapon to launch five projectiles instead of one. With Launch Override Capacity, you'll have one additional charge, and can even add up to three charges if you have the Doomlauncher perk.

Once you get these Relic skills, you can get Vulnerability Analytics and Machine Learning next. These skills will highlight enemy weakspots that you can shoot to deal bonus damage.

Relic Skill Tree Available in the DLC

Please take note that the Phantom Liberty expansion is needed to access the Relic Skill Tree.

Relic Skill Tree Guide and List

Adam Smasher Build Recommended Weapons

Base Game Only

• MA70 HB has a slower rate of fire and smaller magazine size than the Defender, but deals more damage. You can use this LMG solely against tougher enemies and bosses to deal as much damage as possible.
• Defender, meanwhile, has a faster rate of fire and reload speed but deals less damage than the MA70 HB. If you want to spray and pray and quickly mow down several enemies at once, you can switch to this weapon.

Base Game + Phantom Liberty

• The Wild Dog is an Iconic LMG you can get in Dogtown, whose fire rate increases as you shoot a target repeatedly. This gun is optional as it is locked behind a certain choice during Firestarter.

Adam Smasher Build Best Cyberwares

Operating System

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan	Press L1 and R1 to activate and deactivate. It can be activated at any charged level. When active: Slows time by 85% (you are not slowed) +10% headshot damage +9% Crit Chance +13% Crit Damage Neutralizing an enemy when active gives: +20% extended duration +22% Stamina Max Duration: 8 sec. Cooldown: 30 sec.

Adam Smasher had his own Sandevistan which he used against David in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

It wasn't mentioned which specific Sandevistan Adam was using, but you can use the Apogee to get not only several stat boosts but also equip the Sandevistan that has the lowest cooldown, which can be further lowered with perks and other cyberware.

▲ Back to Cyberwares ▲

Alternative: Zetatech Sandevistan

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Zetatech Sandevistan	When active on the ground: Slows time by 30%(You are not slowed), +12% damage. When active midair: Slows time by 60% +24% damage +40% headshot and weakspot damage -30% fall damage.

If you don't have the Apogee, you can temporarily equip the Zetatech Sandevistan which may not as be as great as the Apogee, but has a low cooldown compared to other Sandevistans.

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Face

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Kiroshi "Doomsayer" Optics	Highlights explosive devices and traps near your crosshair within 26m.

The Doomsayer variant of Kiroshi optics lets you track enemies, which is useful to know which enemy to kill next.

This cyberware has lower capacity, which should give you some space to slot in more cyberware especially if your capacity is low.

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Hands

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Ballistic Coprocessor	Increased ricochet chance with Power weapons. +30% ricochet damage.
Shock Absorber	-20% Recoil

With the Ambidextrous perk, you'll be able to equip two cyberwares for the hands slot.

Ballistic Coprocessor is useful for your power light machine guns, while you can reduce their recoil with Shock Absorber.

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Circulatory System

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Blood Pump	Activate to instantly restore 90% of max Health. Cooldown 30 sec.
Heal-on-Kill	Health +7% when you neutralize an enemy.

Blood Pump is a key cyberware for this build, as this will activate Adrenaline Rush and all of its effects, apart from it being your main healing item.

You can also equip a Heal-on-Kill to get recover some health after killing an enemy.

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Legs

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Fortified Ankles	Allows you to charge jumps for greater distance. Hold the jump button and release for a charged jump.

You can use Fortified Ankles to charge a jump from the ground, switch to your fists, and use Quake to copy Smasher's infamous crushing slam.

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Frontal Cortex

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Mechatronic Core	+35% damage against drones, robots, mechs and turrets. +2 Max RAM.
Newton Module	-1.25% Cooldown instantly for all cyberware after neutralizing an enemy.
Self-ICE	Automatically negates an enemy quickhack. +2 Max RAM Cooldown: 45 sec.

Newton Module is very useful for this build, as it lets you have faster Sandevistan cooldowns by simply just killing targets.

Mechatronic Core will let you deal more damage against robots, which you will encounter as you progress through the game.

Meanwhile, Self-ICE allows you to shrug off quickhack attempts from enemy netrunners, like how Smasher easily repelled Lucy's quickhacking attempt in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

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Arms

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Projectile Launch System	Charged shots gain: +30% damage, +25% explosion radius, +40% dismemberment chance

The Projectile Launch System serves as your rocket launcher and second weapon other than your light machine guns. This cyberware will get several boosts from Body perks like Pyromania, and can be further powered up with Relic skills.

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Skeleton

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Epimorphic Skeleton	+13% Max Health
Scar Coalescer	+22% Armor when below 50% Health.
Universal Booster	Health Items now also give: +10% Armor for 5 sec. -30% all Stamina costs for 5 sec. These effects do not stack.

You can't go full-borg like Adam Smasher in 2077, but you can imitate his metal body's durability by slotting in skeletal cyberware that raise your armor.

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Nervous System

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Adrenaline Converter	+40% movement speed for 7 sec. when entering combat.
Neofiber	+10% Mitigation Chance, +9% Mitigation Strength Mitigation grants a chance to reduce incoming damage by current Mitigation Strength (default: 50%).

Adrenaline Converter grants you extra movement at the start of combat, allowing you to quickly reach enemies after activating your Sandevistan.

Neofiber grants you more mitigation stats and is slotted in for defensive purposes.

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Integumentary System

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Carapace	+32% Armor effectiveness when attacked from the side or rear. +0.5 Armor per Attribute Point. +1.3% Bonus Ricochet Damage +1.3% Decreased enemy vision
Cellular Adapter	+1% explosion resistance '+0.5% Tech weapon damage +0.5% Health item recharge speed +0.5% grenade recharge speed +13 Carrying Capacity +2.6 Health
Subdermal Armor	+0.5 Armor per Attribute Point. +1.3% Decreased enemy vision +2.6 Health

These cyberware also give you additional armor and defense boosts to make you even more tanky and durable.

Phantom Liberty Alternative: Chitin

Cyberware	Effect (Tier 5)
Chitin	Provides additional Health Regen. +1.6% Health Regen Bonus +3.1 Health

If you have Phantom Liberty and have excess cyberware capacity, you can chip in a Chitin instead a Carapace to get even more armor.

Chitin is an Iconic cyberware that is only sold inside Dogtown.

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How to Use Adam Smasher Build

Activate Sandevistan During Fights

Adam Smasher is known to be a high-functioning cyberpsycho, which just fits the playstyle of abusing the Sandevistan for this build without any detriments.

Keep eliminating enemies to shorten its cooldown so you can use it again once it ends. You can also activate it to run away from a fight to reload and heal.

Approach Targets Up Close

Light machine guns have issues with accuracy and bullet spread, so try to be near your enemies during fights to alleviate these downsides.

You'll also be able to utilize Close-Quarters Carnage's effects of a higher chance of dismembering your enemies when you're shooting them up close.

Use Projectile Launch System and Pyromania Combo

To take full advantage of Pyromania and its connected perks, make sure to position yourself near the area where you'll fire your Projectile Launch System.

This will help you easily stack five Pyromania instances, which will instantly give you another Projectile Launch System charge via the Burn This City perk. If you can do this regularly, you will never have to wait for a long time to charge your arm cyberware.

You also don't have to worry about blowing yourself up, as you'll have reduced damage from your own explosions if you have the Friendlier Fire perk.

Use Aerial Quake as AoE Attack

Use Quake and Epicenter together with Fortified Ankles to jump high in the air and slam on the ground, similar to how Smasher crushed a certain someone into bits back in 2076.

If a fight gets crowded, charge your jump, switch to your fists, and use Quake in the air to crash into the ground and damage anyone near you.

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